Germany's Merz Finally Backs a Woman for President — After Weeks of Party Tension Over the Pick
Chancellor Friedrich Merz's Christian Democrats have thrown their support behind Bavaria's Ilse Aigner, clearing the way for her to become Germany's first female federal president when the Federal Convention votes in January.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz's Christian Democratic Union has agreed to back Ilse Aigner, a longtime Bavarian official from the allied Christian Social Union, to become Germany's next federal president — a move that would make her the first woman to hold the largely ceremonial but symbolically important office.
Merz has said for weeks that he wanted Germany's next president to be a woman for the first time in the republic's history. His party's formal endorsement of Aigner follows what multiple German outlets described as weeks of tension between the CDU and CSU over the pick, after the CSU had already put Aigner forward and the CDU held back while Merz weighed alternatives, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Who is Ilse Aigner
Aigner, 61, has served as President of the Bavarian State Parliament since 2018 and previously held two federal cabinet posts, as Germany's agriculture minister and later its economy minister. Her party, the CSU, is the CDU's sister party and governs Bavaria; German media reported the CDU's consensus to back her after Reuters first broke the story Friday.
The federal presidency is Germany's head-of-state role, distinct from the chancellorship that runs the government day to day, but the officeholder is expected to serve as a moral and diplomatic voice for the country. The president is chosen not by popular vote but by the Federal Convention, a body made up of all 630 members of the Bundestag plus an equal number of delegates named by the 16 state parliaments. That vote is scheduled for Jan. 30, 2027, when it will decide whether to succeed incumbent President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
Aigner's path to the nomination has not been entirely smooth. Several German outlets reported friction within the coalition as Merz publicly floated other names before ultimately aligning with the CSU's preferred candidate, a process one Italian wire report described as the two parties reaching consensus only after weeks of behind-the-scenes negotiation.
What's next: the nomination still requires formal confirmation through the governing coalition before the January vote, and opposition parties in the Bundestag could put forward rival candidates ahead of the Federal Convention. If confirmed, Aigner would take office succeeding Steinmeier later in 2027.